Our natural inclination when this time of year rolls around is to spend now and worry about it later. After all, it’s the season of giving and who wants to stress about paying bills when you’re shopping for junior’s bike? Unfortunately, that kind of thinking is what led our country (and a lot of the world) into the current financial funk. And if you’re really honest with yourself, what causes more stress – setting a budget ahead of time for the holidays and sticking to it as much as possible, or spending freely and not really knowing how long it’s going to take you to pay it off?

The holidays bring many happy and joyous things. Even shopping for holiday gifts can be fun and exciting. It’s all in good fun until the credit card bills start rolling in. The credit card fog is one that can hang on for years to come unless you learn how to curb the holiday spending hangover before it occurs.